Bruce Willis’ childhood strain masked early signs of dementia

Years before Bruce Willis was diagnosed with aphasia and later frontotemporal dementia (FTD), subtle changes in his speech began to appear – but his wife, Emma Heming Willis, believed they were tied to a lifelong challenge he had faced: the stutter of his childhood.

In 2022, Willis’ family revealed that the “Die Hard” icon would retire from acting due to a cognitive disorder. In 2023, they shared a more specific diagnosis: FTD, a rare condition that affects about 50,000 to 60,000 Americans. It gradually affects behaviour, language and daily functioning.

“For Bruce, it started with language,” Heming Willis told a recent Town and Country interview. She admitted that early shifts in his speech didn’t set off alarms at first because Willis had dealt with a severe stutter as a teenager.

“Bruce has always had a stutter, but he’s been good at covering it up. When his language started to change, it (seemed to be) just part of a tribe, it was just Bruce,” she explained.

“Never in a million years would I think it would be some form of dementia for someone so young.”

Willis’ journey is a reminder that even small changes can sometimes signal something bigger, especially when they overlap with lifelong traits. His story sheds light on FTD, a condition many still know little about.